Someone Explain What Is Going On!

The pair flew like projectiles through the air, crashing through countless orbs in their flight as if the many among them were nothing but empty shells. Eligh could just barely see the streets far below which were bespeckled with an audience as tiny as ants, sitting atop their cars to better see the action unfolding in the air. Others watched from rooftops; buildings so high Eligh made eye contact with people as he zoomed by.

Seeing their excited faces made him think of old Yuu and May, the eccentric couple who took him and Oliver in at a young age. Emboldened by this, he thought, Fifteen minutes.

He traveled on Mara’s heels, so close to her he’d probably smack nose-first into her boots if she so much as slowed down. He wondered where they were going at such a speed, and how Mara now seemed to know exactly which orbs to avoid.

Does she know which orbs are gifts? He wondered. How?

Where are you going, Mara?

Just then, a mass of orbs converged on them on three sides and locked themselves together into a multicolored steel sheet as tall as a skyscraper.

“Wah!!” Eligh cried and gripped his right hand into a tight fist, forcing himself to a fast stop. Mara had done the same and floated in place looking at the giant obstacle that had appeared in their path. Eligh had never seen anything like this. “Mara—” he began but was interrupted by the surprise of her spinning around to face him, her still-serious face close to his.

Oh, my heart—his mind whispered before he could stop himself.

“Anchor.” Mara said and immediately plummeted toward the earth.

“Wait—!” What the hell?! Eligh cried, flabbergasted, and followed suit knowing he had no other choice. Anchor, he thought. He thrust his fingers outward, open palm downward, and fell like a ton of bricks toward the city streets below.

The wind slapped at his face and kicked at his body… but nothing was more desperate than the orbs.

Eligh noticed the change happening around him but could hardly believe his own eyes. The once-a-steel-sheet of orbs disassembled themselves once more and snaked through the air towards Eligh and Mara as if the pair of them had targets on their backs.

Or simply were targets.

They rammed against Eligh’s head, face and elbows with remarkable force. “It’s like they’re trying to knock me sideways!!” Eligh screamed above the noise of the orbs, the crowd, the wind, the announcer asking, “What is going on over there?!” He fought to keep himself upright.

“They are!” Eligh heard Mara scream back and peeked his head down to see her below. She, too, was being pelted with orbs and, in all the confusion, Eligh somehow noticed that several of the orbs—if not all—seemed to be empty when their colors cycled back to clear. He wondered how not even one gift orb had crossed their path within the entire hour, even while they were being attacked by nearly a thousand.

Though, he left that curiosity to the wind as they approached the street below with enough speed to certify death. With about twenty feet to spare, his body directly above the spectators crowding the roads, Eligh curled his fingers into a fist to stop his momentum and thought loud in his mind, Speed Burst. With that, he punched the air with a quick jab and shot forward at the speed of light, leaving a deafening crack of sound rippling through the air.

The crowd broke out into thunderous cheers and applause at the spectacle. Only professionals in various fields were authorized to use this gear, so it was rare to see up close. Rarer was Eligh. Someone of his underwhelming caliber able to gear up so effectively was nothing short of miraculous.

Eligh had no time to gloat. Mara had been one step ahead of him and was again leading the way over the tops of citizens’ excited heads.

They were heading in the same direction as earlier, but faster. The orbs were hardly keeping up. A large orange and almost clear white building appeared to be their destination and while Eligh was busy wondering why, he heard, “Nine minutes remain!”

He gasped, choking on the wind invading his mouth. “We’re almost out of time, Mara!” He yelled, knowing she wouldn’t be able to hear him or any of the questions he wanted answers for.

Still, ignoring his anxious mind telling him to stop and try to snag a gift orb—for Olly!—before time expired, he followed her. He hoped Mara knew what she was doing, and he wouldn’t have to sell an organ or something to advance to the next phase.

Because dammit, I’ll do it!! He thought a bit crazily and was snapped out of it by Mara skidding to a mid-air stop outside of the brightly colored building.

Mara shouted, “Here!” and pulled Eligh flush against her body as soon as he’d reached her.

“Mara?!” Eligh cried, his eyes bulging against the sockets. “Wh-Wha-What? Why? How—!”

“We need to get inside now! The orbs are coming!”

Sure enough, the several hundreds of orbs they had outflown were fast approaching and were ready to pelt them to near death. It was clear to Eligh now that they were surely these orbs’ targets. But it was supposed to be the other way around!

“Speed Burst, together.” Mara said. Eligh nodded. For no real reason, he pulled her even closer to him, wrapping his arm around her. His heart tap danced an irregular rhythm.

“3, 2… Speed Burst!” The pair yelled simultaneously and shot forward with a crack of sound that made the building before them tremble. They crashed through a window and skidded across the floor of what appeared to be a large monitoring room with the orbs giving chase.

“What do we do now?!” Eligh yelled, bracing himself for the inevitable—and relaxed when it never came. The constant whirring sounds of the orbs dissipated as they stopped their pursuit and retreated. “What’s going on?” he asked and looked to Mara for answers.

Her face was bright red, and she appeared stiff. It was then that he noticed his arm was still hugging her. “Ahh! I am so—” Ohmagod, he thought, “—sorry!” He could hear his own heartbeat slapping against his lungs.

The whole city could hear his heartbeat slapping against his lungs.

“It-It’s fine…” Mara mumbled and peeled herself away from Eligh. Then, she turned her attention to the room they stood in and addressed people Eligh hadn’t even realized were there.

Among a room teeming with large computers and all manner of video surveying and communication devices, was a team of very ‘caught-looking’ individuals to whom Mara demanded, “Give us both a gift orb. Now.” She thrust her hand outward, open palm facing upward.

Eligh was shocked into silence, but his mind was reeling. What is going on right now?!

A man with a long navy blue lab coat stepped forward with the charisma of a leader. He held two gift orbs, one in each hand. Eligh focused on the orbs, waiting for the color sequence—black, red, green, blue, white, gold, clear. Sure enough, he spotted a tiny black cube inside each clear orb and felt goosebumps tickle his arms and spine.

“How do you have those?” Eligh felt compelled to ask, his voice distrustful.

The man laughed a loud, boisterous laugh with his head tipped back and his wrists propped against his hips. Before he could answer, though, Mara chimed in, “He’s the engineer responsible for Phase One. And he’s my idiot brother, Kaien.”

“B-Brother?!” Eligh cried, although now that she mentioned it…

He noted the man’s dark, straight hair which fell over his eyes in a long bang, the back parts hanging in shaggy auburn strands against the back of his neck. His face and expressive eyes, though older and masculine, looked very much like Mara’s. He was handsome as much as Mara was beautiful.

Eligh stood quietly while Mara moved forward on her brother like someone looking for trouble. “There are only a few minutes left!” Mara shouted, “Hand us the gift orbs. You’ve been deliberately keeping them away from us, haven’t you?”

For a moment, Kaien seemed about to deny this. But then, all at once he drooped himself all over Mara while scream-crying, “I don’t want my baby sister in this dangerous competition!! Stay hoooooome!”

Mara rolled her eyes, “Stop that! I’ve told you about this.”

“And you,” Kaien paused to address Eligh, “You just don’t deserve one. Thirteen-percent success odds is ludicrous, don’t you think?”

Eligh was aghast. He thrust his finger at Kaien’s face, “It was you!”

“No. It most certainly was no—”

Mara yoked Kaien’s head down by his long bangs, “If you don’t give us orbs now, I’ll tell the whole committee you were tampering with the competition!”

This seemed to wake Kaien up, though not easily. While keeping a glorious frown on his face, he handed Mara an orb and watched as she broke it open. The sound of invisible fireworks welcomed her as a champion of Phase One and Kaien couldn’t look happier.

Eligh stepped forward with his hand out. “Please, sir.” He said, unable to hide the displeasure in his voice.

Just then, the competition’s announcer bellowed, “Only ten seconds remain! Nine… Eight…!”

Meanwhile, Kaien didn’t move a muscle. Eligh was beginning to sweat, “U-Um, please?!?!” He said, mouth quivering through a strained smile.

The man remained still until Mara shoved her knee into his tailbone. With a yowl of pain, Kaien tossed the orb airborne, and Eligh felt his heart damn near stop. As the time ticked down to three seconds, Eligh caught hold of the orb, cracked it open, and heaved a sigh of relief as the invisible fireworks welcomed him, at last, as a champion of Phase One.

Loud music blasted through the air as the round concluded. “And that marks the end of this year’s Gift Battle of the Gear Up! Games!!”

Cheers so loud that they echoed rang out through the air. Eligh smiled over at Mara. He knew they'd still be hearing them long after they ended.